


Sacrifices

by Aviss



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-03
Updated: 2013-03-03
Packaged: 2017-12-04 05:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/707309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aviss/pseuds/Aviss





	Sacrifices

 

"This is all your fault," Iruka said through clenched teeth, glaring at the prone figure of Kakashi and deliberately ignoring the fact that he hadn't stirred for the past minute. He crossed the few steps separating them and crouched down to ascertain his condition. Kakashi still had a pulse and was breathing, something Iruka needed to make sure didn't change before they got back to Konoha.

He wouldn't be able to kill the idiot if he was already dead.

With more care than it probably was necessary, Iruka picked up Kakashi, draping his unresisting form over his back, and began the walk back to Konoha. It was going to be slower than Iruka liked, but he could feel the blood slowly seeping through his uniform and though he needed to get Kakashi to a hospital as soon as possible, they weren't in any condition to be jumping from tree to tree. Fortunately, they were just a couple of hours away.

"This is the last time I'm ever going on a mission with you, Tsunade's orders be damned," Iruka grumbled, the silence of the forest unnerving him for the first time in his life. He didn't want to think about the fact that Kakashi's panting breaths were so shallow they were practically inaudible, or that he hadn't made a sound, not even a moan of pain, when he had been jostled or Iruka stumbled. And he definitely didn't want to think about the spreading wetness on the back of his uniform, or the fact that he didn't know any healing jutsu powerful enough to stop it. "And believe me," he continued, filling the silence with his annoyed words regardless of the lack of audience. Kakashi was too far gone to hear him. "Once you're conscious again, we're going to have words about this. I'm not a damsel in distress, and I can fight my own battles. If you ever, _ever_ , think about putting yourself between me and an enemy, you won't have to worry about _them_ killing you."

Iruka continued talking the entire time as he moved as fast as he dared, holding tightly onto Kakashi's arms over his shoulders to keep him in place, checking for a pulse almost constantly. He grumbled, and cursed and threatened Kakashi, and all the time the image of that jutsu that was meant for Iruka hitting him kept playing in his mind over and over.

One thing was clear, if Kakashi survived this, he had some explaining to do.

…

The first thing Kakashi noticed was that he was in the hospital. Again.

It should be quite disturbing to be able to identify his location by the aseptic smell of the room and the quality of the white light in one second flat, but Kakashi actually found it a bit comforting. At least this time.

It meant he was alive, and if he was alive so was Iruka.

The rest of his memories trickled in at that thought and he flinched, biting back a groan of pain. He was alive, Iruka was alive--and Iruka was going to _kill him._

He had screwed up, big time.

"Yes, you have."

He turned around at the words, seeing Iruka sitting on the uncomfortable chair the hospital provided for visitors, probably trying to get more patients by forcing them to twist into horrific shapes if they wanted to stay for longer than a minute.

"Um," he began, and coughed, his throat dry as Suna's desert. Iruka was by his side a second later, holding a straw to his lips; cool, delicious water soothed his abused throat.

He wondered how on earth he had managed to speak aloud before.

"You didn't speak before, I'm just that good at reading you," Iruka said, sitting down again. "And you have screwed up, so it was an easy guess."

Kakashi stared at him, and once one got past the dark circles under his eyes, the messed up hair and the wrinkled clothes that signalled Iruka had spent the past few days there with him, it was easy to see just how furious he was. It was there, in the calmness of his tone and the flatness of his eyes. Kakashi had never seen him like this before; screaming his head off and threatening everyone with painful death, yes, but this calm and cold and unapproachable, no.

He didn't like it, not one bit.

"How long?" he began, because in spite of the tales of his courage being spread throughout the entire Fire Country, and his legendary feats of valour in battle, deep down Kakashi was a bit of a coward, and he'd much rather avoid the conversation that was to come. He didn't feel ashamed by that fact, he'd seen Gai cowering from an irate Iruka, and Gai had much less to lose.

"Five days," Iruka said in the same calm tone, depositing the glass of water on the side table and fussing with the blanket covering Kakashi, the tips of his fingers brushing against his collarbone, as if he needed that small contact to reassure himself. "It was touch and go for the first couple of days, and after you pulled through, it was three more days for you to wake up."

"I'm sorry," he said, because it was always better to start with an apology when he had messed up.

"You should be," Iruka said, turning his back to Kakashi and heading to the door. His posture was stiff, back ramrod straight. "I'm going home now you're awake. I need a shower, some food and a few hours' sleep to face you properly or I might kill you before I get to hear your explanation."

"Iruka--"

"I don't want to talk to you right now. I'll be back in the morning."

Kakashi stared at the closed door and sighed.

He was in so much trouble.

…

It had been Tsunade's fault; if she hadn't insisted they were a good match and would do great together in a mission, it wouldn't have happened.

And the worst of it was that she had been right, they were good together, had been great together. They knew each other's fighting style inside and out, training sessions and strategies made up on the fly during lazy days without missions, and an understanding of each other that came from living together for almost three years now.

They had worked like a well-oiled machine, covering each other's back seamlessly, anticipating each other's moves. It had been one of the best missions Kakashi had ever gone to, spending time with Iruka out in the forest, tracking down a group of missing nin that had attacked a Konoha courier and had stolen some sensitive information. It had been a good mission, an easy one, right until the end.

They had not been prepared for the ambush, and it was clear now that the attack on the courier had been just the bait. Three days of running around the forest, of barely keeping up and almost losing their targets had ended practically at the same point it had begun. They had doubled back so many times Iruka had asked Kakashi whether Pakkun had a cold and was leading them in circles. Kakashi had almost asked the nin-ken, not because he didn't trust him, but because his annoyed face was hilarious, when they had found their target. Except they weren't alone, it wasn't just a couple of missing nin waiting for Kakashi to appear, the ambush had been perfectly executed.

Kakashi had had a minute to be glad Iruka was covering his back, and then it had all gone to hell.

The fight had been fierce and equal though Kakashi and Iruka were outnumbered they weren't outmatched. Three years of training with Kakashi and keeping up meant Iruka was no slouch in hand to hand combat, and his reflexes and weapons skills had always been above par. He didn't have a thousand jutsu at his disposal, or the chakra to pull off most of the really complicated ones, but he didn't need them.

Watching Iruka fight had been a thing of beauty, and distracting as hell. Kakashi had entertained the thought of recording he fight with his sharingan for his later perusal before dragging his mind off the gutter and focusing on the fight. Iruka moved with the economy of movement of someone who had absolute control over his body and environment, probably as a result of having to control hordes of children learning how to shot pointy and sharp objects. He had danced through their enemies, disabling without killing when possible, pushing them towards Kakashi when he was close to be surrounded. They had been winning, Kakashi was certain of that, when he had heard it: the crackle of electricity, the smell of ozone in the air, and he had seen something too similar to a Chiidori for his peace of mind heading towards Iruka. Kakashi had not spared a thought, he had just reacted, teleporting right in front of the blast.

Not his smartest move, he'd admit, but he'd do it again in the same circumstances. At least Iruka was alive and whole enough to be angry with him.

That didn't mean he was looking forward to the conversation that was to come.

…

Kakashi was already awake when Iruka arrived in the morning. He was looking much better, nothing like the pale shadow Iruka had dragged all the way back to Konoha, bloodless and burnt, barely alive. Now he looked more like himself, a white cloth covering the lower part of his face, his eyes sharp and alert.

Iruka was also feeling slightly better, the night of fitful sleep doing wonders after the past few days, short and insufficient as it had been.

"How do you feel?" he said as a way of greeting. He took the seat next to the door, facing Kakashi. Normally he would have gone straight to the bed and kissed him, showed Kakashi how glad he was that he had recovered and they could go home soon.

Today Iruka didn't feel like indulging him, still too angry and hurt. He _was glad_ Kakashi was better, that he was on his way to complete recovery and would be released soon. He just didn't know if they were going to go home together.

"Awake," Kakashi answered. "In pain."

"Should I call for Tsunade?" he said, instead of the _you deserve it_ that sprung to mind. He quashed that nasty voice in his head pretty quickly, he wasn't cruel, and didn't like the thought of Kakashi in pain.

"No, they already gave me a dose of painkillers. It will pass soon."

They stared at each other in silence for a minute, neither wanting to be the one to begin the conversation. Iruka didn't know how; he had practiced it, during the long hours watching over an unconscious Kakashi, had gone over the words over and over again, wanting to ask why he had done it, the image of Kakashi appearing in front of him just in time to take an almost fatal hit erasing every other thought in his head. Now that he had an audience, though, all the words escaped him.

"You know, I have never wanted to kill anyone as much as I wanted to kill you when I saw you taking that hit for me," Iruka finally began, dropping his eyes to stare at his hands. He could feel Kakashi's eyes on him, focused and curious, and he forced himself not to look at him. Not if he wanted to say what he needed to say. "I don't think I have disposed of any enemy as quickly before, and I could probably make a lesson with the kind of moves I used. Not that I think I can repeat them, at least not without you bleeding to death next to me."

"I--" Kakashi began, only to be interrupted.

Iruka shook his head. "No, let me finish." He took a deep breath. "I don't think I've been more afraid in my life, checking your pulse and praying it wouldn't stop beating before we got here and I could get you some help. I thought you were dead at least three times on the way, and each time I stopped, only to start again when I made sure you were still breathing. It was terrifying. And all the time, all the way here and while I wanted for you to wake up, I kept wondering what the fuck had been going through your head to pull that stunt. I had it under control, I knew it was coming and I was prepared for it. Did you think I wouldn't be able to defend myself against it?"

"I wasn't thinking," Kakashi said quietly, barely audible.

"What was that?"

"I wasn't thinking," he repeated, louder, firmer, and Iruka finally looked up from his hands to Kakashi. He was staring back, his face exposed and his eyes fixed on Iruka's face. "There wasn't time to think, there was a nasty lightning jutsu heading your way and I knew, I just knew that no matter how ready for it you were you wouldn't survive it."

Iruka narrowed his eyes at that. "And you thought you would?"

"No, I didn't." He shrugged and Iruka clenched his fist on the armrest to keep from punching him.

"You didn't think you'd survive," Iruka said the words slowly, as if trying the idea on for size. Yes, that fit Kakashi to a tee. He took a deep breath. "And yet you still did it."

Kakashi shrugged, an apologetic look in his eyes. "And, in the same circumstances, I'd do it again."

"Great," he said, standing up. "I have to go."

"Were our positions reversed, wouldn't you have done the same?" Kakashi asked softly at his back.

He left before giving Kakashi any kind of answer.

…

Kakashi sighed and closed his eyes, dropping his head back on the pillow. He had really fucked up this time.

He had known since the moment he woke up and saw Iruka that this wasn't one of their normal fights, the ones where they usually yelled and flung accusations and then had amazing sex against the wall, but he hadn't imagined it was going to be _the big one_ , the insurmountable hurdle everyone had told him existed in every relationship.

The worst part was that he'd do it again.

He had been telling the truth before, he had not expected to survive the hit, but he was more prepared to deal with it than Iruka was. He controlled lightning, after all, and he must have unintentionally channelled enough of it, as the fact that he was still breathing proved. Iruka would have died, there was no doubt in Kakashi's mind about it, and even if it cost him the best thing in his life, he couldn't get himself to regret it.

At least Iruka was alive to not speak to him again.

The door to the room opened, probably a nurse coming to check on him, and Kakashi feigned sleep hoping she would do whatever it was she was supposed to do and left. He wasn't in the mood for human interaction.

"Budge over." The side of the bed dipped, Iruka gingerly climbing on top of the sheets next to him, arranging their bodies so they were touching but there was no chance to aggravate Kakashi's injuries, and Kakashi suddenly felt as if some invisible weight had been lifted from his chest and he could breathe properly again. "I'm still angry."

Kakashi laughed and opened his eyes to look at Iruka, and yes, there was still a hardness in his expression that spoke of anger, but it wasn't the coldness from before. This Kakashi knew how to deal with.

"I know."

"You scared me."

"I know."

"But you're right. I'd have done the same," Iruka gave a minute shrug, his shoulder brushing against Kakashi's. "And I wouldn't have thought about you being more valuable or some of the other _rational_ reasons, because the truth is that when you stepped in front of me, all I could think was that I had been too slow to reverse our positions." Iruka propped himself on one elbow and leaned over Kakashi, brushing their lips together. "But if you ever think of dying on me again, I'll have to kill you myself."

 

Kakashi pulled his arm from under the covers and grabbed Iruka's hand, twinning their fingers together. "So, what now?"

"Now? Well, you're staying here for at least another week, and I will go to see Tsunade and request that she never, ever puts us together in a mission again."

"Probably for the best," he said closing his eyes, his tired body reminding him he was still healing and needed to sleep. He yawned burrowing against Iruka as much as he could in the tiny and uncomfortable hospital bed.

He was almost asleep when he remembered something else. "Damn, I knew I should have recorded the fight."

The last thing he heard was Iruka's fond _idiot_.

…  


**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Firefly (The You Only Live Once Remix)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/723487) by [Caeseria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caeseria/pseuds/Caeseria)




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